MIST (Roles reversed)
by Clever neko
Summary: Every century, the higher race, the elven take a young girl to their world to be the heir to the elven thrones bride. when Nell is chosen she cant refuse. but is going to the elven world forever so bad? and is her mysterious so-called fiancé Evan trying to help her? this is a role reversal version of one of my favourite books MIST by Kathryn James.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up and sighed. Today was the day of the Handover. It was the day when the Elven, the higher race that had taken control of the earth, repeated the ritual that our ancestors agreed on a long time ago in exchange for the all the lives of the human race. The elven would come to a town, a different town each hundred years, and take a young beautiful girl from there and take them to their world for two days and marry the air to the elven throne.

The ancestors were tricked though. They didn't know that the air in the elven world was poison, and that after a day and a night that a return back to the human world would be fatal. They watched their own child die in front of them but they couldn't break the pact. All they could do was make the elven swear to treat their other children like queens and let them live their lives in the elven world forever.

For years people feared the pact or curse, the Elf Kings Curse, like nothing else. That is until the rumours spread. Was it true that the girls that get sent are bathed in gold, pearls and diamonds? That they always have enough to eat? That they have power. When the humans invented media and the next girl was taken it was proven true when she posted a picture of herself online looking like a queen, and the crowd went wild. Suddenly being taken to the elven world wasn't a curse but a privilege.

Over the years, the pact became polluted by the media, money, and fame. Parents started cheating and secretly training their kids from the start to try and get them chosen and the once curse become nothing more than a fancy competition where all the rich of the world competed to see whose daughter would be chosen. All in all the elven didn't really chose but took any girl they got. The girls were chosen by the president then handed over to the elven.

This had been going on for a long time and soon the competitors didn't even bother to hide their tricks. Their every move was broadcasted over every news station in the world and a few years ago they even started a voting system. This year a girl called Bria Samsung. Her parents owned Samsung co. had bribed whole nations with their newest phone to vote for their daughter.

This year the elven would take Bria from my town so I got to ensure I had a good view. The elven basically looked like humans but you could pick one out anywhere with their pale skin, white bleached hair and dark, dark charcoal eyes. I had caught glimpses before but this was a once in a life time chance as they only came as out in the open once every one hundred years. I got up, brushed my hair took a shower and quickly brushed my frizzy light hair. It had originally been chestnut but soon turned blond after an incident involving frost. I was about go downstairs when I heard the door open.

"You're not really going to the Handover like that are you?" her little six year old sister Gwen said sassily.

I sighed. "Is there a problem" she replied.

Gwen smiled. "Let me style your hair"

I nodded reluctantly. Any other day I would have said no but the Handover was a big deal and as much as I wanted to refuse she couldn't. I sat down let Gwen straighten out my messy frizz and restyle my hair into flowing locks, tying the top half of it back with red ribbon and leaving little bangs at the side. She even added the tiniest touch lip gloss, but she knew to stop there.

"There perfect" she giggled gleefully.

I glanced at myself in the mirror and smiled.

"Thanks kid, now go get ready yourself and wake up mum and I'll make breakfast"

Gwen stopped giggling and walked out of the room sighing. I swore she could hear her saying 'if there is anything to make' under her breath. That was a fair statement

I sighed again. That really was a fair statement. Ever since our father had died there and been no income of money. Our dad died shortly after I had turned 10. That was 3 years ago and Gwen no longer remembered him. But she did. I shook my head and went downstairs. It was a small two story house with two bedrooms a bathroom and a kitchen. We did get benefit money and rag tag money that their mum, Jackie, got from doing jobs here and there but most of it went to pay the rent and the rest (if there was any left) had to be used for food. I looked in the cupboards, but just as Gwen had predicted, there was nothing there but tonight's dinner, bread and jam. I shut the cupboard and waited for mum and Gwen.

When they came down they didn't bother to ask for breakfast and set off to the Handover, me wearing my favourite midnight blue dress and Gwen in jeans and a yellow shirt. When we arrived Jackie went off to go to the toilet and they were left there, alone.

"This is so exciting the elven are so rich and mysterious and now they're coming here, I mean, here of all places! I mean why would they chose boring Woodbridge when there are so many different places."

"Because there is a mist near here" I said without thinking. Mists were the gateways to the elven world, hidden in the woods.

Gwen nodded.

"I guess."

"Shhhhh, it's starting"

Trumpets blared out and a limo slowly bulled down the road. A teenage elven boy appeared, the messenger.

"I am here to take the young girl who will be Prince Evan's bride, upon the pact you made with the elf king" he said.

The road hushed. As practiced Bria stepped up into the road and stood in front of him.

"I am the girl who shall become the prince's bride, upon the pact you made with our ancestors" she said showing of her whitened smile, tiling her overly made up face, trying to look cute. I was sure I saw the man physically recoil. It was obvious he didn't like the much her much. He looked her straight in the eye and said, "No, a different girl." The whole world's jaws dropped. Bria looked like she had just been slapped.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say" she said upping her charm, in one last effort to look cute.

"I said what I said. You are no fit to be Prince Evans bride" the messenger said, his face unchanging. Bria's eyes bulged, but she still managed keep her smile.

"Why, might I ask" she said, barely hiding her anger.

"Because you do not have anywhere near the standard amount of beauty required for a tribute. You can cover your face in as much paint as you want but that means nothing in our world. Also your inner beauty is nothing to look at either, inner beauty is valued even more than outer and you lack both. So on the laws on the pact I cannot accept you, the pact clearly states that you must be beautiful" he replied.

That broke her.

She tore off her heels and ran away crying.

Everyone was silent, nobody knew what was going to happen. Then he pointed at me.

"You, we'll take you instead" he said

And that was it the next thing I knew I was in a limo being driven off before I could comprehend what was happening. Obviously I couldn't have said no, which would have been a death sentence for the whole human population. But how could I say yes, I wasn't prepared for this in the slightest, so in the end all I could do was nod and step into the car obediently and try to avoid my family's horrified gaze. How could all of this happened so quickly, in the space of one second it was decided that I was to leave this world and never see my family ever again. A million feelings were coursing through me but I couldn't identify any of them. Suddenly the car stopped and a man opened the door. He stood there for a second then sighed,

"Come out of the car please" he said as if he's tired of dealing with spoiled, pampered rich girls and mute, stupid poor girls, which he probably is.

"Sorry," I mumble as I scuffle out of the car. It was only my second time being in a car, and with the added complications I was still in a daze. We were the in a forest near Woodbridge, because the elven liked to put their mist in cold, forested places. Now the only time the forest mists were used was to take the girl of the century to her doom. Humans couldn't get through the mist because the elven had made some kind of passcode, but all who have tried to get through have always ended up coming straight back.

The elven boy looked at me exasperatedly, "Ok, I'm only going to show you this once," he said. I watched intently. The boy made a series of odd steps on the ground as if he were playing a peculiar game o hopscotch. He stopped and looked at me and this time I caught on immediately. I copied his movements exactly, not daring miss out a single twitch as to not get him angry again. I looked up to see him look slightly impressed

"You caught on fast," he said then turned and repeated his funny dance, though this time through the mist. That explained why humans couldn't get across, it was a very precise routine and not many people could just guess the moves. I walked up to the mist then stopped. I turned and had one last look at the world, my world, because this would probably be the last time I see it.


	2. Chapter 2

The mist felt like a wet tissue stuck to my face, it was walking through the world thickest spider web. I thought this would be a short passage but there were over 40 steps. 50. 60. As I jumped over to my 70th stone I suddenly realised that I –or weren't in anything like land or water, or even air. This was a complete different matter entirely. Whatever it was it probably didn't even have a name, probably wasn't even known to scientists. That was one thing the elven were really strict about. They sold anything from gold to natural recourses, but they insisted they work the land themselves. I seemed there was a special way they liked to get their stuff because they wouldn't let one of our bulldozers near their beloved land. But then again they don't let anything human besides the chosen girl in their land either. I wonder what's so good about their land that their so protective, I mean-

I was pulled out of my thoughts as my foot touched solid ground. The wet tissue feeling left immediately and the cool _elven_ air hit me like sun after a storm. I sucked in a deep breath in and looked up. And released the breath almost as soon as I had taken it.

Wild. That was the only word to describe what I saw. I'm not sure what I had expected the elven land to be, but I now know that it wasn't the overgrown, prickly and _primal_ forest known to man, or maybe not known to man in this case. But really it looked like someone had thrown a bunch of mixed seeds in their garden and then completely forgotten about them, leaving them to stay alive by their own means, letting them grow out however they wished. Seeing all the twisted greenery in its full glory was kind of intimidating. And breath-taking.

The elven boy that had escorted her through the mist looked back at me staring and sneered. "What human girl, are you scared? Thought that you would come and see a bridge paved in gold and ice cream. Didn't expect to see a big bad woods filled with big bad wolves, did ya?"

I should have been offended I knew. Any normal person would have been offended. But I've known for a while that I'm not normal, that I don't do things normal people do, don't think in the way that normal people do. I've come to terms with it. So instead of being offended and throwing back a numerous amount of insults at him to make me feel better ab out myself, I just calmly stated "I guess you're kind of right, at first glance it can be intimidating. But if you look at it in the right way it's beautiful. It looks so alive, like the world before time began, where everything just grew. Nature in its full majestic glory"

There, I'd said it. Now came the look, it always came without fail. He was gonna slowly turn and look at me like at me like I was crazy, because now adays you don't appreciate full beauty. You have to say a brainless answer then laugh about and move on to the next thing, otherwise you were different. And different is bad. But I gave up trying to hide it ages ago so instead I braced myself for the insult that was coming my way. But it never came. I looked up to see he was staring at me. Not the usual 'you're crazy' stare, or the rarer 'show off' glare, but just a normal plain stare.

"What's your name?"

"What?" I replied because I was seriously confused. I had just openly I had just openly confessed I am a downright weirdo with mental problems and he goes around asking for my _name_?

Instead of explaining how he thought I had mental problems but instead he just looked slightly peeved.

"I asked you what your name is" he said again.

"I'm Nell" I said deciding he was just trying to be polite and not tell me mental right to my face. I had been a nobody at school and I avoided going out at all and making contact with people at all when I was at home, so my experience with conversations was limited.

He just nodded his head and started walking towards the woods, gesturing I should follow him.

"What's yours?" I called after him without thinking.

He stopped walking and turned his head to look at me.

"What?"

"I asked you what your name is" I said again.

He paused.

"Falcon" he said finally before the woods swallowed him.

"Ok Falcon." I muttered under my breath before following him into the Big Bad Woods.

"We could go through a faster route, if you like."

We had been walking (more like Falcon had been walking, and I had been stumbling along) through the woods for over an hour in a light silence when Falcon suddenly stopped and asked me.

"Umm, yeah sure" I said. Fast routes weren't exactly the safest but I really wanted to get out of this forest as fast as possible. It was like it was _trying_ to trip me up while Falcon was gliding over it like it was nothing. As I answered he stopped and kneeled down on the ground, and I just stood there confused.

"Get on my back" he instructed.

That took me aback. Ide half expected him to push me down a rabbit hole but to _get on his back_ , I wasn't expecting. I tried to protest but he just cut me off.

"Get in my back or walk through his forest for another 4 hours" he threatened.

Reluctantly I stationed myself on his back and he stood up, his arms under my legs holding me up. But seriously, how could this make us any faster-

I stopped. Because it was impossible to move, impossible to breath, impossible to think. Because time had left us behind and we were moving at the speed of light. The speed itself was impossible. I squinted my eyes shut and waited for it to end. It did pretty soon, and every atom in my body went _oomph._ Falcon slowly lowered me down and I tried to regain my balance but my effort was futile. I body hit the ground with a _thunk_ and started going numb. I was going to faint. The last thing I heard before the darkness swallowed me was

"Welcome to heart's desire, human girl Nell"

Then I was out.

 **timeskip**

The first thing I registered when I woke up was the feeling of comfort. And it was over whelming. After years of sleeping on a yard sale mattress, the plush soft cloud I was flouting on was a big shock to my senses. I almost wanted to fall right back to sleep, but I resisted the urge and sat up, opening my eyes.

I was in a small cosy room sitting on what was the softest bed in existence. There was also an armchair, a bedside table, and a mini fridge in the corner. On the table there was a small bell and a note that said 'ring when you are awake'. I wonder who had left that, maybe Falcon. Btu it didn't really seem like something he would do. Maybe someone else, I mean I was obviously inside and I remember passing out. Maybe it was an elven doctor? Tired of contemplating, I just rang the bell and waited. Almost soon as I put the bell down the door opened revealing an elven girl of about elven years old. She was thin and pretty with a thousand intricate plaits adorning her head. The girl spoke up.

"Well you sure woke early, I expected you to be out a bit longer considering this is your first time. Damn Falcon, we had made a nice little path for you to take you straight to the welcome ceremony, but he still takes it upon himself to take you through the woods, then flit with you when he gets flippin' tired" the girl said with a frustrated huff. From the way she was talking about him she seemed to know falcon. And the little supersonic flying they had done earlier was called flitting.

"Oh and I'm Star by the way, the healers apprentice. They told me to come check up on you when you woke up. Oh and don't be too worried, from what I've heard almost all humans have bad reactions to flitting the first time but you're really good. Yu didn't even throw up. I'm just here to do a small check-up though." She added as she walked in. as if to prove a point she walked up straight to my bed and checked my temperature, then moved onto my pulse. The room felt silent after her little outburst and I struggled to think of something to say as she did some other various medical checks on me.

"I'm Nell" I managed to choke out as she finished up. She smiled back at me and I realized that I really liked her and that we would probably be friends in the future.

"Well it very nice to meet you Nell, but if you will excuse me I have to go re-organize the humongous ceremony we had planned out for you." She said before heading to the door.

"You don't have to." I said without thinking. She stopped and turned back go look at me almost confused.

"What?"

I decided to expand "I mean it sound s like you're going through a lot of trouble to plan this ceremony thing, and I mean you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean" I smirked wryly "it's just me."

I expected her to stop and give me that 'your demented' look, and I almost regretted what I said because she seemed like a great friend, and in a new place like this I needed as many of those as I could get. But instead of running away from me as fast as she could, she smiled.

"You're different" she paused. "I like that"

That was the last thing she said before going out the door and shutting it behind her.

 **skip**

"She said and I quote 'you don't have to if you don't want to'"

"And when we were walking through the woods she didn't complain once"

"I know all of the stories about the previous chosen girls are true-"

"But this one just seems-"

"Different."

They both finished and looked at their audience, a young handsome elven boy of about 14 years of age.

"Look I know you guys are just saying that to make me feel better that the love of my life has basically been chosen for me. If this fiancé of mine is such an angel I'll go visit her myself. But I still think this is all an act before she start to bathe herself in our gold like all the other gold digger chosen girls have done" he said before going back to the book he was reading before he was interrupted by his friends.

"You can go now Falcon, Star"

"As you wish, Prince Evan"

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING. I THOUGHT NO ONE CARED AND GAVE UP ON MY WRITITNG BUT YOU PEOPLE GIVE ME STRENGTH. sorry for any typos, spelling mistakes, I'm not perfect.**

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 **clever neko is out!**


	3. Chapter 3

I looked up from my book and smiled up at the two tiny elven girls grinning at me. This had been quite common in the past few hours. Star had disappeared almost as soon as the door had closed and I had been too scared to try and follow after her. So I settled myself in the small room, found a small somewhat hidden bookcase, and read until it was I thought it was supposedly night and fell asleep. I had woken up to various several elven in my room staring at me. Naturally I screamed.

At first it had been kind discomforting to have people peek at me through the door, but I soon got used to it. Sometimes rewarded them with a smile if they stayed long enough and when the smaller kids came full in, like these had I would have a small chat with them before they ran out giggling. It was kind of mandatory that I made a good impression, because I really did need friends in this place. It had been a weird day, being stared at like I was a new exhibit at a museum, but most just took a peek through door and only the little ones came in, but they were cute so it was ok.

"Hi," I said to the current two girls standing in front of me, they looked about 6 and were almost identical with their matching adorable smiles. "I'm Nell. What about you telling me your names?"

"I'm Pixie" said the first one cheerfully

"And I'm Fay" said the second with a sugary smile. Really these girls were just too sweet. Literally.

"I'm Nell" I said with another signature Gwen smile. Maybe I was getting good at this. "It's very nice to meet you"

The girls started giggling while I sat clueless. Inside Joke?

"You said that already" Pixie spat out in between giggles. Or maybe Fay?

So much for overwhelming them with my charming conversation skills

I carried on failing at small chatter, enjoying their company. Even though most people would have been bored by now, I was really starting to like these kids. They were like little bright balls of innocence that almost soothed the ache in my chest created by the lack of the people I love. My family. But it wasn't time to think about that now. I waved a as Pixie and Fay left and as I was about to go back to my book when the door swung open.

"I've got to say Nell, you sure know how attract attention"

There standing in the doorway were Star.

"Come on"

-X-

"So why exactly are we taking this, err, lovely scroll through the woods?" I asked while trying to stop myself cringing from the _thing_ that was trying to crawl up my leg.

"I just wanted to see my friend," she replied pouting a pout that rivalled that of a sugary little fairy "you've been holed up in the healing room since you got here, and after we finished cleaning up the welcome ceremony I realized that we might not have given you the best first impression, so I'm gonna taking you to the river as a treat." Star said.

Even though I was kind of mad at her for dragging me out to be bug food, knowing she had good intentions made the mosquito bites just that little bit less itchy. But then again what's so great about a river, not that I had too much experience but weren't rivers just gallons of brown polluted water full of rubbish? Maybe they were different here...

They were.

Caught up in my own little thoughts, I hadn't noticed that we were heading for a clearing. So when the world around me was suddenly enveloped in sunlight I was taken aback. I had finally finished my little blinking fit, and I looked up to see one of the most dazzling scenes a girl like me a lot could ever hope to see. The river was a fragile, duck-egg blue colour, like the subtle sweep of a painters brush. Seeping and snaking smoothly past all obstacles, it managed to hurdle the rivers boulders also. Twigs twirled on its murmuring surface, little messengers from the mountain trees where they had come from. The brook flowed over the pebbled riverbed. It sounded like the airy, velvety whirl of a starling flock.

The mountains stood silently in the background, a brooding presence of sky punching majesty.

Liquid descended down a wall of ragged rocks in a continuous flow of crystallised water that reflected the calm midnight sky and the trees that swayed in the light breeze. A distant thrumming sound emanated from it, like the steady rumble of a drum roll. Glinting brightly, it fed the river, the lifeblood of the forest. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

My gaze returned to the swirling brook. I could see now how the water had gained its glassy clarity. The run off from the icy edges made it appear varnish clear and the surface glinted as if dream dust had been scattered over it. Speckled trout drifted under the shady eaves of the bank, flicking their tails lazily. If a juicy fly happened to pass they would explode from the pebbled bed like angels of death. Arching into the air, their bodies glistening, they hovered briefly, performing the ballet of the river. Then, with a plunking sound, they would dart back to the shadowed depths, their catch already safe in their spotted bellies. The watery grace of the river seemed magical to me at that moment.

The sweet perfume of the forest drifted into my nostrils as I reflected on the beauty of nature, not wanting to break the almost perfect atmosphere that filled the fresh, clean air. As I took in the wondrous scene Star stood patiently beside me and gave the river a little look of awe herself. That's how we stood there in silent agreement at peace while the river water rolled gracefully past us and the forest life went on.

-X-

We were sitting now still in silence but now Star suddenly started with things like 'There is a pretty dragonfly flying in those reeds over there' or ' Don't you love the way the baby squirrels try to bite at the water like its solid, and the cute disgruntled look on their face when they can't '. I would the look in the direction she was pointing at to see the fragile yet majestic beauty of the turquoise dragonfly, its wing moving so fast they hummed like it was ready to disappear into the nearby shrubs at any second like an annoyed spirit or sprite. Or I would nod my head and remember the band of squirrels that had visited the lake a few minutes before.

I understand now why she wanted me to see the river and I'm truly grateful that she thought to let me receive this experience. I never really saw wildlife back home, and when I did they would usually run away before I could get a good look, but the even the smallest of animals here were fearless and came as close to us as they cared too, only really caring for other animals above them in the food chain. I was examining a lone badger when I heard it. It was the howl of a wolf.

A unique sound produced only by wolves, this howl rang out to us from a not too far away. And even though I was a small town girl I could still see that the wolf was in distress, in danger by its howl. I could tell by how the wolf's voice shook mid howl as if it was holding back sobs, by how instead of dominant and confident its howl sounded whiny and scared, by how the sound fizzled out pathetically at the end of its cry and by how Star's eyebrows creased in worry at the sound of it.

She stood up abruptly and leaned towards the sound as the wolf cried out again, even more urgently this time. Star looked panic. She looked like she would like to take off at the direction at the sound at light speed, but then she looked at me, then back towards where the wolf was, then back at me, eyes pleading with silent question.

I held her gaze for a moment before hesitantly nodding my head, and she smiled slightly in gratitude while slowly taking small steps away from me, eager to go.

"I'll be right back" she assured me.

"I'll be right here" I replied.

And she ran off leaving me in the middle of an unknown rural forest to go save a wolf.

…

I kneeled down at the riverbank and thread my fingers though the rushing river water, letting the currant run away with my consciousness. It had been about two minutes since star had run off and the wolf's howls had gotten quieter ad quieter until they had stopped completely. I didn't know where she was or when she was coming back, so I just waited and waited, watching the life go on around me. I thought about the possibility that I had been abandon that they had been unsatisfied with Falcon's choice of the first girl he had seen and planned to leave me here. They would say that I didn't make the journey, and people would pretend to be sad but really everyone be happy because they still had a chance…all except maybe mum and Gwen.

Deep in thought, I hardly noticed that the colony off mice's ears all suddenly pricked up unnaturally, and that they all ran for shelter in urgency. I could lightly hear the slowly increasing sound of the galloping of hooves heading my way. Maybe this was also part of the plan, the tragic story of the chosen girl who got run over by a horse. Sorry Elven, but I don't intend to get run over anytime soon. I'll just live in the forest if you don't want me that much. Damn, to take such measures.

I stood up and got ready to sprint.

I looked back just as the galloping got close enough for my predator to emerge from the trees, I need to see at least a glimpse of my opponent to formulate a befitting strategy. Although I had been in the cross country team, but I had no idea how long I would have to run and I couldn't exactly pace myself; if the horse or whatever it was looked stupid enough maybe I could consider hiding. Sure enough a form off a dapple grey horse emerged from trees. But that wasn't all, right in the middle of its forehead, above his eyes rested a sparkling silver horn…

"Wow" I whispered, forgetting all thoughts of running as I stared hypnotised at the mystically majestic unicorn.

 **I am so sorry *bows to the floor and grovels*. yes I do realize that I have not updated in almost 6 months after arrogantly saying that I would update every week which turned into month, and then even that was broken. since its the holidays I will try to update this week to make up for my awfulness. I am truly thankful to you few amazing people who bother to read my work for not un-following/favouriting me. I truly appreciate it. sorry for any mistakes in this, you might have picked up that I am so awful not even spell check can save me. thank you**

 **lastly HUGE shout out to my best friend Skyelover101 who helped me greatly in the making of this chapter when I was on the verge of death. long story short rivers are awful. check out her account and wattpad because she is a much better writer than I will ever be. once again thank you, I will try harder to be a better writer in the future and make even better chaptes that will truly entice you. that's all.**

 **please review**

 **clever neko out.**


	4. Chapter 4

I felt like time had stopped all around me and my brain fell into a trance like state. The awkwardness and stickiness that I had been feeling for a while since I got into the forest, (not that I had really minded) had disappeared and left a soft lavish feeling in its stead. It somehow reminded me of this time I had been so thirsty when the water had eventually been cut off from our house because we hadn't been paying our bill.

I had coincidently found a few bottles of something in a back cabinet, and of course I drank it. I was thirsty. Only what I didn't know was that was my mother's secret stash of alcohol. All that I really remembered was feeling like I was floating on a pink cloud until the cloud turned into a thunderstorm by the time morning came with a hangover. The bottom line was that I felt great but in the back of my mind I knew that something was wrong, terribly wrong. That I was forgetting something important, something about the unicorn that I was walking towards. Though what could possibly be wrong with a unicorn? All I wanted to do was stroke it mane, it looked so soft.

It seemed he almost knew that I was thinking about him because Mr Unicorn turned to look at me, how sweet! His nose seemed to flair in this cute little way and he scraped his feet on the ground in this sheepishly cute way. He looked almost like one of those cartoon bulls as he lowered his horn and got ready to charge at me. The feeling came back, the strange feeling that something wasn't right, something was being blocked from my consciousness. I frowned suddenly and stopped in my tracks. Then I saw the unicorn with its horn facing me ready to charge and skewer me like a human kebab.

Naturally I screamed.

I got ready to turn tail and run but it was too late, it was already charging towards me. I tripped on the thick roots of an oak tree and fell to the ground. This was it. I covered my head with my hands and waited for the sensations of pain to pierce my back.

But they never came.

Instead I heard as the unicorn whinnied and took off in the opposite direction. I didn't dare move though, I was too scared. That was close, way too close. Trembling I got onto my knees and steadied myself on the same tree I had tripped over. I tried to calm myself down. Yes, I had almost died but I hadn't and that's what mattered. The thing is, why had the unicorn changed direction? I didn't understand. I was still breathing deeply in and out when I sensed a presence behind me behind me. Scared that maybe it was a friend of the unicorn that had been very determined to run me over I whipped around and got into a stance to run again. But what I saw wasn't a unicorn.

"The unicorns have a charming power rivalled by only the Elven's, you broke out of it before it could kill you. And a unicorn in mating no less. How did you do that?"

From behind me a guy emerged from the trunk of a tree. Literally.

*Evan's P.O.V*

I looked at the girl who was standing before me. Her long blonde hair was thick and curly, threaded with leaves and twigs, patches died brown with dirt. Her face which was almost clean except for the spot on her chin where she had fallen into the earth moment before and wore a perplexed expression. Her crumpled blue dress looked like it had seen better days, and her shoes were unrecognisable. She was in a stance that showed that she had once intended to run away but I could tell she had already let her body go slack. She wasn't going anywhere.

I had been out with Faolan, ( **A/N:** You know Evan's wolf? I can't find my copy of mist and I have a feeling I have spelt it wrong) when I had heard her scream and on instinct I had flitted in the direction of the sound on instinct, and I wasn't far at all. I had stopped short when I saw the unicorn.

Although unicorns were extremely short tempered they usually minded their own business when they were alone, and didn't come near any living thing when they were in their herds. Except for when they were in mating season. When unicorns were in mating season their already short tempers were divided by 10 and their already frightening powers were increased by the same. Luckily, they usually stayed well away from other things when they were like that. Usually.

This one was obviously an exception thought as I flitted closer and closer, but I knew I wasn't going to make it. The girl was obviously under the unicorns strengthened charm, a charm that rivalled only the Elven's under normal circumstances. She was walking to her demise and if she didn't manage to put some space in between her and the creature, there was nothing I could do that I could to save her.

But the she did just that.

I didn't spare a second to think as she suddenly scrambled away and ran away, it didn't matter. The small space she had put in between her and the unicorn had given me just enough time. I swooped behind the unicorn and smacked it hard on its rump. As expected, it got on its hind legs, thoroughly spooked, and set off in the opposite direction. Sighing in relief, I turned back in the direction I had come from, not feeling the need to involve myself any further.

I had known from the first time I had seen her that she was most likely to be my future human wife, and I really wasn't ready to meet her yet. Whether it was one extra hour or one extra minute I would take all the time I could get before I would have to give away my freedom to some pampered princess. Although I was kind of sad about leaving her alone, she was no longer in immediate danger and someone would eventually find her.

But a sudden realization made him go back. How had she broken the unicorn's charm? Humans were supposed to 10 times more vulnerable to charm. And this was a charm that had been amplified by 10. So wasn't that supposed to mean that she was 100% vulnerable to the charm? The more I thought about it, the more it confused me. So without a second thought I marched forward to where she had fell and asked bluntly what was going on. It was only when she looked back at me like I had two heads did I realise how in incredibly stupid I was.

-X-

(Nell's P.O.V)

After a few moments I heard the elven boy curse to himself and I realised that I hadn't replied to the question he had first asked me. The only thing was I didn't know the answer, scratch that, I didn't know what he was talking about. Something about resisting a charm…wait.

Charm. The feeling of drunk obliviousness I had as I willingly walked towards ferocious beast. I had resisted it. I had resisted walking to my death, a death which it was now clear that they had planned for me. Now it was crystal clear that they what they had planned for me, they had even sent someone to oversee my demise.

It was a factor I hadn't thought of before but now that their first plan hadn't worked, I needed to intercept this guy before he sent for back up. He looked about my age and I wondered for a second if I could take him down with a kick that my dad had showed me for ultimate self-defence called the Heavenly Strike. I could probably break his leg but I didn't know the Elven's tricks yet, who knew if he could call his friends through telepathy. I opted out.

Slowly as to not cause trigger any sudden actions I turned to face him directly. His gaze didn't change. I breathed steadily, trying not to make too much of a sound and took a small step towards him. He stayed still. I walked towards him, putting my hand out to call out to him, but he seemed to take it as his que to leave because he suddenly swivelled on his feet to face the direction he had come from and started to jog away. I panicked and forgot my calm and patient plan in a second and called out to him in a last ditch effort.

"Wait"

-X-

 **... I will allow you to kick me now. I'm sorry. I will actually update again because I've got like a week and half to kill without my beloved phone which is not present due to err...circumstances. On a different note, the next chapter will be mainly about Nell and Evan's horribly extended trip back to Hearts Desire soooooo...*grin*. To tell you the truth I am gonna love writing this, its what I love about Nell and Evan, the perfect mixture of mysterious quietness and awkward quietness mixed in with curiosity...the perfect mix of quiet people...**

 **Thank you everyone who has ever reviewed to a person as inconsistent as I am.**

 **Another round of applause to Skyelover101 who is again, a better writer than I for any spelling mistakes. An err... please review, it makes me happy :). That will be all for now.**

 **Clever neko out! ;)**

 **Again, Please REVIEW.**


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